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Thousand Trails - Rancho Oso
Tosha Tingey • July 4, 2019
Thousand Trails in the mountains of Los Padres California
Our first mistake with our stay in Rancho Oso
is that it wasn’t long enough. This stop was an in-between stop to break up driving days. So after they tell us about the fun rodeos, activities, horseback riding, and more they were doing this weekend we looked at each other and wished our stay was longer.
3 Things We Did Not Love
1. The drive up
The drive up, while gorgeous, is difficult towing a trailer. There are lots of curves alongside cliffs and some very narrow roads. On the way in we ran across a big fifth wheel going down. We had to back up our Airstream until we could get far enough off the road to let them go by. I was grateful we didn’t run into anyone when we were leaving because those roads are tight.
2. Activities
The only reason why this is showing up on things we did not love list is because we wish there was at least one activity to do during the week. We heard this from a few other families too that was looking for activities to do during the week. We didn't stay through the weekend but all the activities over the weekend sounded fun.
3. Weather & Distance
I’m only putting weather because it was in the triple digits when we were there early June. So just a heads up for anyone going without AC. Rancho Oso is the Thousand Trails closest to Santa Barbra and is right in the Los Padres National Forest
up on a mountain, you’re about a half hour away from any cities and stores. We realized this once we ran out of diapers and had to head to the nearest Target. So unless you’re sticking to activities and amenities offered in the campsite or hiking trails in the mountains, you’ll need to drive out to do anything.
3 Things We Loved
1. The Campground
When you drive into the park you are welcomed with the sight of beautiful horses grazing in pastures. The campsite is large and beautiful! They have these themed cabins you can stay in or in hand covered wagons! If you’re hooking a camper up they have rows of campers that are on a hill. So it gives you a view over your neighbors to the south. And the views of surrounding mountains is not a bad one.
2. Pools & hot tub
Yup, you heard me right. Pools, plural. Rancho Oso has 2 pools and 1 hot tub. As I mentioned before it was in the triple digits so we spent a lot of time at the pool staying cool.
3. Wildlife
Besides pastures of horses, there are lots more animals! They have a barn area that you can walk around and see all sorts of farm animals! Super fun to take kids to. There are also wild turkeys walking around everywhere. This campground does offer horseback riding but they were all booked out and Addie was too young, but definitely something to look into if you are booking ahead.
Service & Signal:
We have Verizon and T-Mobile devices and we weren’t able to receive signal at our campsite. However, they do have a cellular booster in the lodge that worked great! We were able to even do some video calls that’s how quick the internet was in there.
When you're on a cruise it can be difficult to experience the island or country you are in when you only have a few hours. The other challenge we had was finding an excursion that our entire family could join. And by entire family I mean my parents, my sister's family with four kids, and our family! So when we found Chukka Caribbean's excursion that included Zip-lining, River Tubing, ATV ride, lunch, and a bird aviary - it was the plan for a perfect day!
If you’ve ever gone to Rocky Mountain National Park, you most likely came through Estes Park. It’s pretty well known but from now on when we go to the National Park we will be going to Granby. Granby is on the western side of Rocky Mountain National Park. We found an AMAZING campground to stay at that has so many amenities and the area all around is packed with fun things to do!
I always want to be real with anyone reading this blog about full-time travel, tiny living, Airstream life… all of the above. So I want to share some of our hardest moments that had us either wanting to quit or had us seriously questioning, “what are we even doing?” So here we go…
Glacier National Park is one of those National Parks that you hear about and just KNOW that it is going to be amazing. And it was. Right upon entering the park it felt more like home and less like a tourist attraction. The park itself is huge but upon arrival, it feels like you’re entering a little town with an ice cream shop and café, boat rentals, and a small visitor center. After going to the visitor center we headed to get our kayak inspected. The inspections are free and pretty basic. You will have to rinse it off if it’s wet or dirty but that’s about it. If you aren't bringing your own gear you can rent for a good price right across the street from the lake. Life jackets are required to be worn by children and adults must have them in the boat with them or worn. After that, we went right to the dock next to the Village Inn and set sail! The pictures can show just how gorgeous this place was better than I could ever describe.
Pike’s Place Market place is the longest-running farmer’s market in America! The hype and the buzz of the atmosphere is palpable. You have flowers lining one side and the most unique crafts, food, art, jewelry, anything you can think of on the other! On the lower level, you’ll find shops dedicated to vintage prints, toy cars, magic shops, and more unique products! And of course, the famous fish throwing vendor will not leave you disappointed. I usually get anxiety in large crowds and people trying to sell me stuff. But the vibe here was so family-friendly. The crowds felt less annoying and more like I just found the after party of Seattle. Just a short stairway away is the somehow popular and extremely gross, gum wall. This alleyway is just covered in gum on the walls and it looks really cool, just don’t think about it too much.
As with just about anything in life, you can only prepare so much until you are actually living it. We have been living in a 150 sq ft Airstream for the past 3 months and here are 3 things we love and 3 things we don’t.
1. Self-Cleaning Vacuum We have a little hidden cubby where we keep our Deebot (googly eyes not included). This almost didn’t happen and I am SO glad it did. I learned within one day how dirty our floors get. It’s awesome to run the little robot vacuum while we are gone or asleep or packing up and have it do all the work.
Pacific City RV Resort had so many amenities and the biggest, most private campsites we've ever had! It's across the street from the beach and lives in the beautiful small coastal town of Pacific City, Oregon.
The Thousand Trails campground, Russian River was just a half way stop near Santa Rosa, CA and we were pleasantly surprised with what this RV campground had to offer!
The Yosemite Lakes campground was actually the one that got us interested in a Thousand Trails to begin with. This campground is chuck full of amenities in the campground itself, and it’s 10 min away from the Yosemite National Park entrance. And I’m apologizing in advance, we were enjoying it so much that we forgot to take pictures until we left! So I only have a few but hopefully it’s better than nothing.